I only own Glee in my dreams.

Becoming We Three.

Three. Reaching Conclusions

"So, um, let's go in." Ms. Pillsbury said, pulling her keys out. Quinn sighed, trying to push the stress of the day off of herself. She had spent all seven hours of the school day avoiding Puck and Finn and practically every other member of Glee. She'd admit it – Puck's video had touched her. It had made her reconsider. The problem was that she was still in the process of reconsidering. She had no idea what she wanted and she didn't think it was fair to talk to him without having a definite answer.

They stepped out of the car, walking up the long driveway to the large house. Quinn surveyed the building as they waited for their knock to be answered. It was a large, renovated house. The outside bricks were dark tan, the house plain with a well worn look. On the lawn were a couple of children's toys, scattered and abandoned.

A harassed looking woman opened the door, leading them though a sparsely decorated living room to a small office.

"Hello, I'm Ms. Louise," she greeted, sounding tired as she fell heavily into her seat.

"This is Quinn Fabray," the counselor offered, taking her seat, "and I'm Ms. Pillsbury, her counselor at McKinley High School."

"It's nice to meet both of you," Ms. Louise said, smilingly fakely as she pulled out a folder, handing it to Quinn. "So, I hear you're interested in a room here?" she asked.

"Um, yeah." Quinn replied, not sure what else to say. She didn't want to be forced into this decision, and the woman seemed to be very eager to make her feel welcome.

"You should know that we place a strong emphasis on education here at The Feldman House," the woman told her, pointing to a page in Quinn's open folder. "While you're here we would require you to continue either at school or to take some form of job training classes or a GED course. We also have a deal with a local business so that you can earn some money for yourself and the baby during your stay."

Quinn flipped through the sheets, her eyes scanning the paragraphs as Ms. Louise went on and on about plans and costs and goals. This didn't sound like freedom, this sounded like a mix of summer camp and prison. Everything was planned – there were quiet hours (with the exception of crying babies, of course), a curfew, a chore and shower chart, and a daily schedule.

"Would you like a tour?" Ms. Louise asked, pulling Quinn back to reality. She nodded, letting Ms. Pillsubry help her to her feet before they left the office. She led them back through the living room into the small foyer. On her second sweep through the room Quinn noticed that the furniture was old and well worn, everything in the room was at least a decade old except for some of the scattered baby toys.

The dining room was the same, with some mismatched extra chairs pulled up to the oversized table. Along one wall was a line of high chairs, not quite up her standard of clean. As they passed, Quinn noticed her counselor cringing. Ms. Pillsbury hated messes, but she rarely let it show. The fact that she was reacting noticeably was confirmation that it was, actually, dirty.

"And this is the kitchen," Ms. Louise announced as they stepped into the cramped room. Two girls were standing at the counter. One, a college-aged red head, was handing a cracker to the toddler that she held on her hip as she laughed at her friend's joke. The other was a small brunette, her hands resting on top of her stomach, which was rounder and larger than Quinn's.

"Hey," the brunette greeted, extending a hand to Quinn. "I'm Jennie, eight months."

At first Quinn is taken aback by the easy reference to the fact that the girl was pregnant. Jennie was easily a year or so younger than her, but she didn't seem ashamed of her situation, where Quinn had only ever known scorn and sympathy as acceptable reactions to teen pregnancy.

"Quinn," she replied, taking her hand briefly, "um . . . five and half months."

"I'm Emma," the other girl offered, shaking Quinn's hand, "and this is Melody."

"So you're gonna take Hannah's room, right?" Jennie asked.

"Um. . ." what should she say? Back, before she was pregnant, Quinn would have immediately knocked the girl down a peg simply for making an assumption. But she didn't know how to move in this world of being a teen mom. Her situation had humbled her, made her rethink her gut reactions. She had no idea how to reply now. "I'm thinking about it."

"Thinking about it?" Jennie asked, her face scrunching in confusion. "It's not exactly a choice. If you're here, I mean, it's not like you have any other options."

Quinn blushed. Was she really going to tell this stranger about all the details of her life? Spill her secret second-guessings and confusion over Puck? Luckily, Ms. Louise cut in.

"Everybody has their own situation, Jennifer." She said, her voice calm and authoritative before she turned back to Quinn. "Let's go upstairs." She said, leading us into the hallway. "Don't mind Jennie," she told them in a half-whisper as they climbed the creaking stairs, "she's a little too confident for her own good."

Quinn nodded, wondering if people had described her the same way before all of this had happened.

--

"Are you alright Quinn?" Ms. Pillsbury asked as they drove away twenty minutes later. She had hardly spoken all afternoon.

"Um, yeah." she said, not looking up. In truth, she didn't know how she was doing. After what she had seen of the house, she didn't know what to think. Compared to Puck's offer it seemed like taking two steps back, rather than forward. It was such a regimented lifestyle that the girls weren't actually learning to lead a household, but instead just taking shelter in a substitute home.

Of course, wasn't protecting herself and her daughter from Puck's destructive and detached personality a whole leap in the right direction?

Quinn grew dizzy just trying to think it all out. On one hand, she wouldn't have to rely on Puck, and she could finish her schooling. She could be around others who understood what she was going through and that would understand every emotion she might go through.

On the other hand, she would actually have more freedom in the Puckerman household, and they could probably work out a way for her to finish high school. People might not understand her as much, but sometimes it was good to get away from stresses of home life, and Glee and Cheerios could give her that.

But she also had to consider her daughter. Before it had been easy – Puck wasn't trustworthy. He wasn't gong to be in her life, period. But now she wanted to give him a second chance. Quinn knew that when Puck set his mind on something than he would accomplish it, and he did seem so obsessed with supporting them.

And on top of all of that, there was adoption to consider. Except that Puck had pulled that option right off of the table. She couldn't give up her baby girl without Puck's consent, and he would never say yes. And she wasn't going to leave Puck to raise her alone.

Could she handle going it alone? Would she know what to do when she cried at night, or be able to handle fevers and earaches without panicking? Wouldn't it be better to have someone else by her side, to balance her out?

Puck could be that person. He kept his head better than she did. While Quinn could drown in minor details, he saw the big picture and persevered towards that end.

But he was Jewish, and while Quinn was in no way anti-Semitic, she didn't know if she could just forget her Christian upbringing.

--

When Quinn woke up the next morning, she knew what her answer was.

A/N: Sorry. I just realized that I forgot a whole chapter! Happy New Years!